This past month we have
had the pleasure to welcome Rabbi Yaakov Glasser as Associate Dean of
the CJF whose broad responsibilities also include directing various
aspects of University Life. Rabbi Glasser has a BA from Yeshiva
College, Semikhah from RIETS and an MA from Azrieli. Most recently, he
has served as the International Director of Education for NCSY and the
regional director for New Jersey NCSY. Rabbi Glasser is currently
the Moreh D'atra of Young Israel of Passaic and Clifton. In all of
these positions, Rabbi Glasser has shown tremendous
leadership, growing his synagogue community and increasing the
spiritual quality and educational experience of the thousands of teens
he and his staff have engaged.

Rabbi Kenneth BranderVice
President for University and
Community Life The
David Mitzner Dean, Center for the
Jewish Future
Yeshiva University

Dear Friends,

It is indeed a great privilege and honor to assume a leadership
position in Yeshiva University’s Center for the Jewish
Future. I am deeply grateful to President Richard Joel for providing me
with the opportunity to impact and inspire the students of YU, and
Jewish communities across the world. His vision and leadership have
positioned our Yeshiva at the forefront of all aspects of Jewish
communal life, and I look forward to advancing that aspiration in our
work at the CJF.

Having served as a synagogue Rabbi for the past 10 years, and working
extensively in the fields of outreach and teen engagement, I have
benefited greatly from the creativity, passion, and professionalism of
this incredible institution. Under Rabbi Brander’s
leadership, the CJF has made an extraordinary impact on nearly every
dimension of Rabbinic and communal life. Moreover, Rabbi Brander has
inspired an entire generation of future communal leaders through
transformative experiences innovated by the CJF. The remarkable
achievements of CJF are a testament to the outstanding talent and deep
devotion that defines the incredible staff of the CJF.

The Jewish community is constantly confronting new challenges in
spiritually engaging the next generation of the Jewish people. The
values and programs of Yeshiva University, together with its Torah
leadership and vibrant student body, stand at the forefront of meeting
those challenges with dedication and passion. The programs featured in
this newsletter project the multiple opportunities for Rabbis,
community members, lay leaders, and students to deepen and broaden the
spiritual vibrancy of our community.

I look forward to greeting you at future CJF programs and events.

Rabbi
Yaakov Glasser
Associate Dean for CJF and University Life
Center for the Jewish Future, Yeshiva University

FROM
KHARKOV TO CLEVELAND, IT’S ALL
ABOUT COMMUNITY

On
Four CJF Winter Missions Around Israel and the World, YU Students Get
Closer Look
at Jewish Leadership More
than 90 Yeshiva University students
spent this winter break engaged in
the hands-on study of—and
contribution to—vastly
different Jewish communities around the world. As participants on
winter missions organized by YU’s Center for the Jewish
Future, students traveled to Kharkov and Sumy in the Ukraine; Kiryat
Malachi, Kiryat Gat and Dimona in Negev region of Israel; areas of New
York that were heavily damaged by Hurricane Sandy; and cities across
the Midwestern United States to make an impact and hone their
leadership skills.

ADVANCING
EXPERIENTIAL JEWISH EDUCATION

YU
Certificate program in Experiential
Jewish Education Now Open to Fourth
CohortThis
past year, CJF's Department of
Experiential Jewish Education
commissioned a field-wide study to
explore the role that goals play in
the work of experiential Jewish educators along with how they measure
success in their work entitled, “Mapping Goals in
Experiential Jewish Education.” In December, we launched the
study at a public event and invited four experts and leading academics
to respond: Dr. Amy Sales, Associate Director of the Cohen Center for
Modern Jewish Studies at Brandeis University; Dr. David Pelcovitz,
Straus Chair in Psychology and Education at Yeshiva
University’s Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education; Dr.
Carmen Hendricks, Dean of Yeshiva University School of Social Work; and
Dr. David Bryfman, Chief Learning Officer at the Jewish Education
Project. Each of the four responses to the study is being published on
ejewishphilanthropy.com this month.

BUILDING
JEWISH LEADERS

Community
Leadership Initiative Launches 2nd Cohort in the MidwestYU
Center for the Jewish Future recently
launched the newest cohort of CLI
(The Community Leadership Initiative).
Sixteen emerging lay leaders
gathered at YU to kickoff a 6-month program designed to strengthen
and inspire community leadership. Participants came from multiple
Midwestern communities, including, Kansas City, Detroit, Columbus,
Denver, Des Moines, Omaha, Milwaukee, and Chicago.

YUCONNECTS
MAKES A SPLASH IN LOS ANGELES

YUConnects
runs singles program and educational sessions for the LA CommunityOn
Wednesday, January 22. Mrs. Mindy
Eisenman, YUConnects' Staff
Connector, spent less than 24 hours in
LA, and ran two educational
sessions, held numerous private meetings and led a hugely successful
singles event. Under the leadership of Sarah Emerson Helfand,
YU’s West Coast Regional Director, with the help of a
dedicated group of singles and community leaders, Mindy’s day
was filled with many and varied opportunities to work with the LA
Jewish community on helping create more connections for singles.

ARBESFELD
KOLLEL AND MIDRESHET
YOM RISHON DRAWS CAPACITY CROWDS

2
recent
programs featured Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks and a tribute event
dedicated to the legacy of HaRav Ovadia Yosef zt”lThe
Abraham Arbesfeld Kollel Yom Rishon Yom Iyun on February 2,, which was
generously
sponsored by Robyn and Shukie
Grossman and family, filled
YU’s Schottenstein Center to capacity to hear Rabbi Lord
Jonathan Sacks, who has joined YU as the Kressel and Ephrat Family
University Professor of Jewish Thought, speak on “Haman: The
First Antisemite.” As well as Rabbi Dr. Jacob J. Schacter who
spoke on “The Role of the Past in the Present and Future:
Nation and Individual.” The Abraham Arbesfeld Kollel Yom
Rishon and Millie Arbesfeld Midreshet Yom Rishon also presented a
tribute event dedicated to the legacy of HaRav Ovadia Yosef
zt”l on Sunday November 24. The event featured special
remarks by Rav Yosef’s daughter, Rabbanit Adina Bar Shalom.

SAVE THE DATE:
RIETS Chag HaSemikhah 5774

Special Program for Rabbis on Child Abuse - click on the flyer above
for more info

Our
mission
is to
shape, enrich and inspire the
contemporary Jewish community by
convening the resources of YeshivaUniversity,
infusing the student
body with a spirit of leadership and a sense of responsibility to the
Jewish people and society in general,
building,
cultivating, and supporting communities, and their lay and rabbinic
leaders, and
creating a global movement
that promotes the values of Yeshiva
UniversityYeshiva
University's Center for the Jewish Future500
West 185th
St. Suite 419 • New York, NY 10033 • 212.960.5263
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